Into the Cincoverse - The Cinco de Mayo EU Thread and Wikibox Repository

[KingSweden24]

UEFA Euro 2018 - Knockout Rounds

Quarterfinal

The quarterfinals of the 2018 Euros saw traditional powers like Germany, Italy, Spain, France and Britain facing off against smaller powers like Croatia, Serbia and Denmark, and with one exception, the games went more or less as expected. In Frankfurt, Germany continued its streak by annihilating a good Croatia side 3-0 behind a brace from Timo Werner to advance to the semifinals once again. They had expected to face Britain in said match, but the football gods had other ideas; Aleksandar Mitrovic, already the Serbian side's star of the tournament, scored late on a penalty to draw the match up at 84' and Serbia then defeated Britain on penalties 5-3 to advance to their first-ever semifinal in national history.

France squeezed past Denmark 2-1 in a surprisingly testy match in Cologne that saw two red cards, one for each side, handed out, leaving the last twenty minutes of the match with ten men to a side. Italy, finally, punched its own semifinal ticket in Dresden in a tough tie with Spain. Daniele Paolini scored to goals to bring his tournament total up to four, but Spain came screaming back in the second half with goals from Isco and Marco Asensio to draw it up, and Paolini's play for a hat trick went off the cross bar at 111'. Italy managed to hold on with penalties 6-5, however, as Dani Carvajal's penalty was the only one of the kicks blocked.

Semifinals

Despite its hype as a minnow making its deep run, Serbia was outclassed by the hosts in Stuttgart, losing a 2-0 result that could have been much worse as the Germans turned in their sloppiest performance of the Euros but nonetheless advanced. Italy, for its part, took care of business against a deeply talented France that had its eyes on the final; after going behind 1-0 at 11', Italy scored twice within six minutes fifty minutes later and Gianluigi Buffon blocked an Olivier Giroud penalty late to prevent extra time. Italy would be in its second Euro final in three tournaments, having lost the 2010 edition to Spain on home soil, and also had a rematch of the 2016 FIFA World Cup final with Germany on offing.

Third Place

Few were surprised at the third place match in Munich, which went about as expected. France raced out to a 3-0 lead and despite Mitrovic's late heroics to add another goal to his tally, France scored again to put the match away with four different players putting goals in net to earn Bronze 4-1.

Finals

The Final would, as it had two years before in France, feature the world's two top-ranked teams facing off against one another. That match had ended 1-1 with Germany triumphing on penalties; once again, Italy managed to open scoring with a goal at 17' in Berlin, only for Germany to show that on home soil they had more confidence than in Paris, and three different German players scored at 51', 60', and 69' to secure their second consecutive European championship and third in history and cement their place, having won three straight major senior tournaments, as arguably the greatest team of all time alongside the Hungarians of the 1950s and Britain in the 1960s.

(Bracket)

 

[Dragonboy]

Cool man!

 

[KingSweden24]

The 2018 UEFA European Championship, for marketing purposes known as Euro '18, was a senior football tournament hosted in Germany from June 15 to July 8, 2018. It was Germany's second time hosting, having held the 1982 edition, which they also won; Germany won tournament with a defeat of Italy 3-1 at the final in Berlin's Deutsches Stadion.

Germany's bid to host was chosen by UEFA on September 1, 2012, controversially only twelve years after it had hosted the 2000 FIFA World Cup on home soil; due to an ongoing economic recession in Europe and the enormous controversy over the then-preceding 2012 FIFA World Cup in China and the conditions of Chinese stadia and other infrastructure as well as corruption allegations, UEFA awarded Germany the hosting rights over bids by Spain and Ireland. Germany selected ten venues for the final tournament, nine of which had been used in the 2000 World Cup and was thus regarded as needing minimal upgrades or investments (Berlin, Munich, Stuttgart, Dortmund, Dresden, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Gelsenkirchen, and Cologne). Three stadia that were used in 2000 (Konigsberg, Breslau, and Kaiserslautern) were not used, while Leipzig was selected as a venue for group stage matches. The inclusion of both Leipzig and Dresden in the final venue selection, with both cities in Saxony, was later revealed to be part of a broader scheme by the Social Democratic Party-led governments of both Saxony and the German Reichstag to steer Euro-related funds to friendly contractors and labor unions ahead of general elections in fall 2016 in Saxony, and led to the defeat of the SPD both in Saxony and nationally a year later in a massive controversy. No new stadia were built for the tournament, though major upgrades and renovations were carried out at all facilities including adding luxury suites and new concessions concourses, but several transportation projects, including the completion of new airport terminals at Frankfurt and Hamburg, were expedited in addition to the Frankfurt-Stuttgart high speed rail, in anticipation of the tournament. The tournament wound up being the most-attended in UEFA history, and was seen as a major economic boost in Germany from millions of additional visitors and tourists over the course of the summer.

Germany became the first team to win a second consecutive European championship and also three major tournaments (Euro 2014, World Cup 2016, and Euro 2018), and put together arguably one of the most dominant tournament performances in the history of the sport, accumulating 19 goals in six matches while keeping five consecutive clean sheets until the Final. While five players would end on four goals apiece, Germany's Timo Werner won the Golden Boot due to the number of minutes played and his four assists; in total, nine different Germans scored goals. The tournament was notable for the semifinal run of Serbia, traditionally a minnow in European football, where they were defeated in the Bronze Medal match by France. As Germany had already qualified for the 2019 FIFA Confederations Cup by virtue of winning the 2016 World Cup, runners-up Italy were invited to that tournament to represent UEFA.

 

[KingSweden24]

Rugby USA's Self-Made Disaster

November 24, 2023

It would be hard to think of a series of events that more crystallize the state of American rugby than the chain reaction of debacles this past autumn culminating in Wednesday's pre-Thanksgiving disaster in Philadelphia, where for the first time in history the men's rugby team were defeated - albeit narrowly - by Mexico on American soil. That one of North America's minnows would defeat United States not only on home soil but in one of the holy cradles of the sport, the same field where in less than two years the Rugby World Cup Final will be held as a preview for the 2026 Summer Olympics, is a debacle of historic proportions, but perhaps one we should have seen coming.

The dumpster fire that is currently Rugby USA has been years in the making and runs up and down to every echelon of the sport, and insiders at Rugby USA's headquarters in New York compare the situation now to the state of the game in the late 1960s. Rugby had always been considered elitist but even in the more staid social mores of the day, it was a sport for snooty college kids and the Pro Rugby Association was an afterthought once players graduated university. Not only that, but USA's heyday of the 1920s and early 1950s were plainly over as the national team got regularly rocked in test rugby, infamously failing to defeat the Confederacy in seven consecutive attempts that decade and dropping results to then-minnows of the sport such as Texas or West Indies. Generation '47 and the politically-charged triumph at Richmond National in 1971 changed the sensibility of the sport entirely; gold at the 1973 World Cup made rugby stars such as Orenthal Simpson, Calvin Hill, Mercury Morris and Ronnie Johnson household names. In the 1980s, the flamboyant and mercurial Rugby USA president Andrew Fleming transformed the game, getting it on not just CBS but other major networks and then revolutionized the game again by landing it on both SportsNet and Turner Sports, the two cable sports channels of the time. Rugby was now a populist sport; in 1995, it beat baseball for aggregate viewership for the first time at both the college and pro levels.

Former Rugby USA scouting director Mike Novak suggests that Fleming's semi-forced retirement in 2002 was the first chink in the armor. USA won the 1989 and 1993 World Cups and came close to glory in '97; a quarterfinal exit in 2001 caused panic on Fifth Avenue in New York and Fleming fell on the sword, though rumor had it he'd been under the gun for years at that point. USA's three straight finals thereafter, with one win in 2009, papered over a lot of the issues with player development and the increasing reliance on foreign players in the PRA, which was a huge commercial success but meant that internationals, especially Europeans from outside the Home Nations, no longer were at a disadvantage against those with experience in the American or Australian leagues when it came to international test rugby. As such, 2013 remains the last time the United States advanced out of the pool stage at the World Cup; based on Wednesday's travesty, they could become the first World Cup host to fail to place on home soil.

The issue is compounded by a simmering issue in the Rose Bowl Playoff, where three weeks ago the Ivy League and Big East League voted to withdraw from Rugby USA's sponsored level of collegiate play and participate in university rugby with the other twelve Division-1 IAA leagues that have never partaken in the Rose Bowl Playoff. In and of itself, this is not an issue - the automatic playoff slots given to the champions of the Ivy and the Big East have been a source of contention for the other six leagues that partake in the Rose Bowl Playoff - but rather signals a shifting era, in which the draw and money that flows with college rugby may be ebbing, and it makes less sense for storied programs such as Harvard, Yale, Providence or DePaul to keep at it against the likes of Michigan, Washington or Ohio State. This is less a financial disaster and more a sign of the times; rugby is not the draw it once was.

The disaster against Mexico follows a poor showing at the Crystal Crown this summer, and suggests once again that USA is wasting the talents of generational players like Travis Kelce or Saquon Barkley and falling further behind CSA, Texas and Argentina despite vastly more resources. Rugby USA President Randy Fowler is under heavy pressure this weekend, to be sure; his survival after the ugly 2023 that American rugby has had, especially with viewership numbers well down for the PRA, would be further evidence that the leadership of the sport in this country is unserious about digging it out of its hole.

 

[Curtain Jerker]

I don't know what makes me happier: that Ted Turner stays north and becomes a player in the Cincoverse, or that my alma mater DePaul is (or was?) a rugby powerhouse.

 

[farmerted555]

I reckon Traylor isn't a thing ITTL.

 

[KingSweden24]

I reckon Traylor isn't a thing ITTL.

Traylor?

 

[farmerted555]

Traylor?

Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce.

 

[KingSweden24]

Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce.

Ohhh

Yeah, idk, probably not

 

[KingSweden24]

It's here - the time when the field for the 2024 FIFA World Cup in Great Britain is set. Every confederation has their participants locked, with some surprises (debutants Newfoundland, in particular) on who made it and some for who didn't (Denmark, Texas, even Colombia). 32 teams will know their group fates on December 8th at the draw at Royal Albert Hall - but for now, we can rank the field based on strength and how we think they'll perform.

32. Newfoundland - An obvious choice at the back of the list, if only because of how unproven they are. Newfoundland not only made it into CONAFA's final Hex round of qualifiers for the first time, but then rode a four-match winning streak to pip a collapsing Texas to the World Cup on goal difference, landing just a point behind defending champions Mexico. This is a fun team of players who even most serious fans of the game probably wouldn't recognize - Kevin Keane, Michael O'Connell, and several others are not exactly household names even as they dazzled CONAFA observers over the last several months - with nothing but upside to play for, similar to Iceland eight years ago in France. Can they advance into the knockouts? Probably not once they are subjected to firepower from opposing sides, but we said that about Iceland '16, too.
31. Kamerun - Can one of Africa's mainstays make a splash in their first World Cup appearance in twenty years? Kamerun dazzled world football in 2000 in Germany by becoming the first (and, to date, only) African side to advance to a quarterfinal; their hoped-for encore four years later would probably be best not to talk about. Karl Ekambi and Christopher Wooh are talented players who can find the net and have ample experience in the Reichsliga; Kamerun's defense is what will make or break this side, and an advance on away goals against Egypt leaves them with an unpromising future.
30. Vietnam - Making their second-ever appearance - previously placing third in their group in France eight years ago - is Vietnam, who made a creditable campaign in their group. Outside of Nguyen Phuoc Duan, the team lacks much in offensive firepower but made Saigon National Arena a terrible place to play for opponents with a boisterous home crowd and one of the stingiest defenses. Vietnam could easily get three points again in a group, as it was three years ago; it may be by collecting three straight 0-0 or 1-1 draws.
29. Switzerland - Switzerland has the ignonimous distinction of being considered - and not just considered, being - UEFA's weakest link, shuffled off into a separate pot from her European brethren thanks to her current FIFA ranking. A team that scrapped and clawed its way into qualification can never be ruled out, but a national side that placed fourth in group in her last two tournaments after previously failing to qualify in 2004, 2008 or 2012 is not a group one can expect to go very far in the contest, especially if the injury sustained in the final qualifying match with Serbia by Renato Steffen is as serious as it looked.
28. South Africa - South Africa pretenses to a status of "Africa's Team," or at least could do so when it was one of the few African sides that could regularly make the World Cup with consistency. This group doesn't look as strong, with Danny Barron one of the few players of note, and struggles against Algeria and Cabinda in qualifiers warrant questioning quality.
27. Turkey - The Red Moons are back in the World Cup after a twenty-four year absence, the longest interregnum of any non-debutant at Britain '24 after only Norway and only their third World Cup since 1988 and fourth in history, a surprising statistic considering the talent that the Turks have often produced. Xherdan Shaqiri remains the dogged, reliable star up front and Hakan Calhonoglu is an outstanding captain in the midfield who has collected plenty of silverware with Inter Milan. Turkey looked decent, though hardly world-conquering, in qualifiers and expectations for their advancing out of knockouts for the first time in team history will be nonexistent, giving them the opportunity to play loose, fun football on behalf of their loyal and obsessive fans back home that should appeal to neutrals unfamiliar with a raft of talented young up-and-comers from the Superliga; just don't expect to see these high-scoring but defensively porous Red Moons after the group stage.
26. Sweden - The stout Sweden sides of yesteryear look gone, replaced by a group that limped into 2024 having failed to qualify for Euro 2022 on the back of a fourth-place finish in 2016 and quarterfinal exit in 2020. The decline was arrested long enough by Marcus Berg, Emil Forsberg and company to scrape their way into Britain (which is more than rivals Denmark, themselves semifinalists but four years ago, can say), but it seems unlikely to be enough with green youth prospects with little high-level experience as the core of this group.
25. Chile - La Roja returns to the world stage with a young, untested group lacking many of the stars of the early-2010s generation that went to two World Cups. After two straight absences, Chile managed to pip Colombia to the final qualifying spot after the latter's collapse when it seemed like both teams would inadvertently throw away terrific chances to go to Britain. The ageless Alexis Sanchez will enjoy another trip to the World Cup sixteen years after his debut, certainly, and Chile can scrap with the best of opponents with a young, ambitious group of rising South American talent, but this may be a group two or four years earlier from its absolute potential.
24. Venezuela - Having made its World Cup debut four years ago, a country better known for its baseballing dominance surprisingly beat archrivals Colombia to the final qualifying spot in the CONMEBOL and then some, placing ahead of Chile on goal difference thanks to a 4-1 beatdown of Bolivia in the final matchday. With mainstays like Tomas Rincon and Salomon Rondon now in their mid-30s, this could be something of a last hurrah for a group that played well at Mexico '20 for debutants but could, quite credibly, make some noise with a favorable draw.
23. Ecuador - Ecuador were simply outstanding in qualifying, after losing their opening three matches to Brazil, Argentina and Colombia they would not lose another match and managed to arrive at third place behind the two traditional continental powers. Ecuador has advanced out of the group stage once, at Brazil '04, only to be bounced out immediately by France thanks a cruel and controversial goal. This group hopes to make a creditable run in Europe, where South American teams often do less than outstanding in results, to make up for several frustrating outings since. If Enner Valencia remains fit, they could well do it.
22. Iran - Team Melli are known for three things - defense, more defense, and even more defense. They allowed all of two goals in the last round of qualifying, but that was decisive as Japan scored those two goals in twin 1-0 wins to top their group. Iran's player development is regarded as top notch, and for once they have scoring potential in Mehdi Taremi and Sardar Azmoun up top. Will it matter? It's hard to say, but if Iran was ever to escape the group stage, this would likely be the group to do it.
21. Japan - The Samurai Blue are a long ways from the 2012 glory run to the World Cup Final, but topping a group that included Iran, Philippines and increasingly-potent India to get here is no joke. Mercurial youngster Ryuji Yamada may in time be the best player in the history of Japan, already gunning for Keisuke Honda's records, and Britain will be a tremendous showcase for the controversial and brash winger to show what he can do on the world stage. One of Asia's two traditional powerhouses will go as far as he takes them, which could be at least a quarterfinal if stars align.
20. Norway - As opposed to Sweden, Norway is playing essentially with house money. This is Norway's first appearance in a World Cup since 1996 and third all-time; it is a hungry, young group headlined by two of European football's most electric players in Erling Haaland and Martin Odegaard, who on behalf of their country have formed a dynamic and lethal strike duo that managed to cruise through their qualifying group and top it. So why are they placed this low? Well, Norway was last seen in an international tournament bombing out in Spain in 2022 with a single point, and they were blessed with arguably the easiest group in qualification. Could they go far? Sure, absolutely; they'll go as far as their magnificent duo of Odegaard and Haaland take them. But there remains much to prove for this raw, young and talented side to show exactly where they belong.
19. Liberia - One of Africa's heavyweights arrives in Britain with the CAF's best qualifying record and the continent's best young superstar in Timothy Weah, son of the legendary George. Weah the Younger is complemented with Oscar Dorley and Charles Phillips, excellent young players who will make feeding Weah the ball their chief mission as Liberia hopes to advance to the knockouts for the third time, and first since 2004.
18. Morocco - Morocco belongs a nudge ahead of Liberia by simple virtue of being the reigning CAF African Cup champions and acquitting themselves well at the Confederations Cup this past summer. The Atlas Lions look ready to make a deep run, especially with the familiarty many of their stars have playing in the Premier League; this will certainly be a group to watch down the stretch if they get a favorable draw and could spring an upset or two.
17. Ireland - The days of Robbie Keane, Shane Long and Steven Davis are long gone, but this is still a good young team with plenty of talent, and this new generation of "Giant-Killers" will want a scalp or two to add to Ireland's infamous trophy case of teams they caught napping - almost a national pastime as far as football goes. Captained by stalwart Shane Duffy, if Ireland gets into knockouts - which it does quite often - then watch out whoever is facing them. A tough road awaits for a green (sorry) side that will want to build substantial experience this spring with friendlies for confidence.

 

[KingSweden24]

16. Korea - The defending Asian champions and traditional powerhouse of Asian football - the first Asian side to reach a semifinal, and to do it twice - Korea has to be confident in its abilities after going undefeated in qualifying to top off its AFC Asian Cup title, even despite its frustrating third-place group finish at the Confederations Cup. This is arguably Korea's most talented side in forty years, which bodes well for when it takes on hosting duties in 2028. The lineup of attacking wealth is absurd - Son Heung-min, Lee Seung-woo, Hwang Ui-jo, John Il-gwan and Hwang Hee-chan are just some of the stars who can punch it in from almost anywhere in the box. The midfield-heavy approach - Korea operates under a unique but successful 3-5-1 schematic - has borne fruit in recent years and excitement is in the air. The Red Tigers could, quite possibly, make some serious noise, and they should be expected to be AFC's representative in the quarterfinals if everything goes as it should.
15. Mexico - Depending on your point of view, the defending World Cup champions are either gratuitously overrated at 15 or insultingly underrated at this spot. Indeed, Mexico's slapdash qualifying campaign left them at risk of being the first defending champion not to qualify for the following tournament since France in 1924, exactly a hundred years ago and under very different circumstances; the atrocious play by Mexico was noticed enough at home that it became a political and PR liability for the government of Prime Minister Jaime Rodriguez. Missing the studs of the golden generation that won the 2020 World Cup on home soil has hurt, but Mexico nonetheless did the work to make it to Britain and did so without staying in fourth as they had for so many weeks and months. This is now undoubtedly Hirving Lozano's team, and he's backed up by talented youngsters like Santiago Gimenez and Sebastian Cordova while veterans like Tecatito or Raul Jimenez spell them. Is Mexico going to defend their title successfully? Unfortunately for everybody who is not 1980s Argentina, probably not, but this side's obituary has been written well too early, even if they are clearly a good step below the talent on offing at home four years ago.
14. Croatia - Ageless Luka Modric has one more bite at the apple in him to take Croatia to the promised land of silverware that they have always desired since their Cinderella semifinal run in Italy '92, and the team certainly has the balanced talent to make a case, especially with support like Mateo Kovacic. This is Modric's team, though, and they will go as far as he takes them, which based on results in recent tournaments could be just about anywhere.
13. Confederate States - The CSA returns to the World Cup stage after a sixteen year absence following their heartbreaking quarterfinal exit against archnemesis USA in 2008, and one of the stars from that run - the remarkably ageless midfielder Chris Paul - is back for a shot at glory. While this CSA is nowhere near the powerhouse that sported the likes of Michael Vick and Allen Iverson in symbiotic strike formation up top, Paul is but a familiar face (who will likely come on as a substitute, as he did in many crucial moments in qualifying) with a very good young core, in particular the sensational Collin Sexton as the striker and the formidable three-man starting midfield of Marlon Humphrey, Aaron Holiday and Jalen Ramsey. While there are some lingering questions about the backfield and the health of longtime goalkeeper Sean Johnson, this is undoubtedly one of the best Confederate teams assembled in some time, with the right foot of Sexton the key that unlocked a deep well of talent that just needed a spark.
12. Australia - Speaking of talented but historically unperforming Anglosphere countries, Australia looks to come back in Chris Wood's last hurrah to advance deep into the tournament in Great Britain. Wood, Massimo Luongo, Mitchell Duke and Brandon Borello have over the course of the last year formed a formidable, well-oiled scoring attack and the dominant goaltending of captain Mathew Ryan in net sets this Kickaroos side apart from previous editions; Wood will have his experience going to a semifinal in China in 2012 to draw upon, too, as Australia looks to match the pinnacle of its sporting achievement in football.
11. Germany - After humiliating group stage exits for a traditional power in both 2020 and 2022, Germany needs to show something to prove that its 2014-18 run of dominance was not just a flash in the pan. This squad is very young, however, dotting in a good half-dozen players who were not even at Euro 2022, though they did play well at the 2021 UEFA U-20 World Cup, winning it. Can this side go the whole way? There will be a lot of talented groups in their way, but Germany should at least expect - no, demand - a push into the quarterfinals as a bare minimum expectation after some very lean years of football for the Reichsmannschaft.

 

[username5243]

Lets go spoiler hunting!

Korea is one united country in 2023. Can't recall if we were explicitly told that already.

Kamerun still has apparently some (cultural at least) ties to the German Empire in the modern day. Perhaps some bits of German Africa remain as closely tied as the ex-French parts of West Africa do in OTL?

Cabinda is mentioned as independent, who controls that area in 1917?

Are we to take that mention of more Moroccans playing in the Premier League as indication that Morocco remains more closely linked to the British for a while? IIRC back in the main thread the Brits were keeping the country as a semi-protectorate to ensure the French didn't take it over.

Oh, and Persia apparently switches to being named Iran at some point. (It happened in the '30s OTL.)

BTW, I think 29 is missing...

 

[Dragonboy]

great work as always! @KingSweden24

 

[Curtain Jerker]

Pulling for Chile! I've been playing them a fair amount in Victoria II lately so I'm hoping they do well.

That CSA team is super athletic, especially with Sexton and Ramsay doing work. A team of Vick and AI would have been a sight to see.

 

[KingSweden24]

Lets go spoiler hunting!

Korea is one united country in 2023. Can't recall if we were explicitly told that already.

Kamerun still has apparently some (cultural at least) ties to the German Empire in the modern day. Perhaps some bits of German Africa remain as closely tied as the ex-French parts of West Africa do in OTL?

Cabinda is mentioned as independent, who controls that area in 1917?

Are we to take that mention of more Moroccans playing in the Premier League as indication that Morocco remains more closely linked to the British for a while? IIRC back in the main thread the Brits were keeping the country as a semi-protectorate to ensure the French didn't take it over.

Oh, and Persia apparently switches to being named Iran at some point. (It happened in the '30s OTL.)

BTW, I think 29 is missing...

Shoot, yea, I forgot 29. I’ll have to fill it in. It’s Turkey/Ottomans (interchangeable name in present day)

Other than that… good catches

Pulling for Chile! I've been playing them a fair amount in Victoria II lately so I'm hoping they do well.

That CSA team is super athletic, especially with Sexton and Ramsay doing work. A team of Vick and AI would have been a sight to see.

Honestly there’s an AltHist not unlike our own where Chile wins the 2014 World Cup. That team really was just that good.

Right? The CSA would have some serious horses once they, you know, start letting black people play sports. It’s been a challenge to figuring out who stays in Rugby vs soccer/football. Derrick Henry for instance is obviously a rugby type; Ramsey and Humphrey strike me as being much more of soccer bodies

 

[LordVorKon]

Right? The CSA would have some serious horses once they, you know, start letting black people play sports. It’s been a challenge to figuring out who stays in Rugby vs soccer/football. Derrick Henry for instance is obviously a rugby type; Ramsey and Humphrey strike me as being much more of soccer bodies

Will there be any notable multi-sport pros like OTL's Bo Jackson?

 

[Curtain Jerker]

Right? The CSA would have some serious horses once they, you know, start letting black people play sports. It’s been a challenge to figuring out who stays in Rugby vs soccer/football. Derrick Henry for instance is obviously a rugby type; Ramsey and Humphrey strike me as being much more of soccer bodies

Might be sooner than you think. OTL Southern California went into Tuscaloosa in 1970 with an integrated team and beat the crap outta Bear Bryant's Tide, which (per Wikipedia at least) was what got him to go to the administration and get them to let blacks on the team.

Can easily see an equivalent scenario, where a visiting Northern team wins big and Black Player X runs roughshod. Maybe not 1970, but thereabouts.

 

[Lemonfish]

Well, it seems Germany’s lackluster performance in recent WC also happened TTL.

 

[KingSweden24]

Will there be any notable multi-sport pros like OTL's Bo Jackson?

Maybe! I’ve always been curious personally about a Bo Jackson who sticks solely to baseball, and with rugby something of a white man’s game still by the 1980s maybe he goes that route instead

Might be sooner than you think. OTL Southern California went into Tuscaloosa in 1970 with an integrated team and beat the crap outta Bear Bryant's Tide, which (per Wikipedia at least) was what got him to go to the administration and get them to let blacks on the team.

Can easily see an equivalent scenario, where a visiting Northern team wins big and Black Player X runs roughshod. Maybe not 1970, but thereabouts.

Funnily enough what you’re describing is the direct inspiration for one of the major events in the half-finished novel a lot of CdM’s ideas are cribbed from, which will make an appearance ITTL too

Well, it seems Germany’s lackluster performance in recent WC also happened TTL.

Plus ca change…

 

[SultanArda]

Shoot, yea, I forgot 29. I’ll have to fill it in. It’s Turkey/Ottomans (interchangeable name in present day

If it is no problem, when can you fix that problem?
I want to see what you plan for Turkey regarding sports